Finally, A Watchable Version of the Spring Dance from Dupatta

I can’t believe it’s almost four years since I wrote up Dupatta. I am kind of proud of that review, as it contains a complete plot summary (which is a rare thing on this blog – especially these days), plus, some people have said it is a well written review. Additionally, it contains clips of a few magnificent songs as well as some screen caps that I took extra time to select and format.

Regarding the song clips, most of them are fairly watchable (relatively speaking), but the only clip that I could find of the charming song at the beginning, “Nach Jia Re” (with the lively spring dance that surrounds it) was in positively awful shape. But thank goodness Tom Daniel aka Tommydan333 (and other nos.) has finally “discovered” Noor Jehan (though clearly, as he admits himself, he could have discovered her a few years sooner if only he’d “listened” to me)… Because, he has decided to work with a few great Noor Jehan films, including Dupatta!

Of course, Tom has posted clips that are more clear than others that can be found out there and are logo-free, too. So, I might replace most or all of the clips in my writeup with Tom’s new versions (and hope that they don’t get stricken down). But with so many other things going on, I will have to decide how much to do and when. (I know, excuses, excuses…) In the meantime, I am certain I want to replace “Nach Jia Re.” Here is Tom’s new version, which will also go into my April 14, 20009 review.

Thanks :) These films are very difficult (near impossible!) to find in such good quality and with decent subtitles that we didn’t want to risk them getting lost in the post so they were hand delivered coupled with a very nice holiday just prior to Hurricane Sandy touching down :)

Yes, they could have gotten lost or damaged. E.g., when I sent my copy of Mera Naam Joker to Tom for his Padmini comp, he reported damages that I did not recall seeing in the DVD the last time I’d played it. It might have gotten more scratched up than I realized before I packed it and sent it, but who knows? Hand delivery is still the best option. (But wait, do you mean that you hand-delivered them all the way to Hawaii?)

BTW, it is nice that you timed your holiday well. I actually returned from a trip just in time for Hurricane Sandy – i.e., returned to Staten Island, one of the worst places to be then! But I had been worried about leaving my cat alone for too long…

But now I am getting confused regarding the process… I assume that not all of the films that you delivered were in such excellent quality and had subtitles, because Tom is fixing the quality and Reeba is adding subtitles to some. (BTW, Reeba, if you are reading this, do you want to be credited by the name you use here? :) )

I have seen yet other very old Noor Jehan films on sale here in the U.S., in a Pakistani DVD store in Jackson Heights, Queens, NY. But I can’t promise that the quality will be great, unless someone fixes things…

Yes, he’s referring to the Noor Jehan films shown during a Noor Jehan festival on Britain’s Channel 4 once a week a long time ago. Those tapes are in very good condition and are subbed wonderfully. Not all of the films used for the broadcasts, though, are in such great condition. Of the ones I’ve worked with so far, Choo Mantar and Koel have the best quality video and audio. Dupatta is mediocre and the worst I’ve seen so far, Patey Khan, is requiring a record amount of work to make presentable. Other Noor Jehan films I’ve received are copies of retail tapes, are unsubbed, and range from horrible (Gaon Ki Gori) to very bad (Jugnu) to mediocre (Mirza Sahiban).

Once Muz received them he mailed them off to me by the US Post Office. But I’m also grateful to Jamal for bringing them with him.

Hey Richard. Which store did you see other Noor Jehan movies at? I may pay a trip to Jackson Heights one day soon and I would love to grab some DVDs even though I know they won’t be great quality. Did you see them recently?

Hi, Muz. I saw the Noor Jehan films mainly in the Pakistani DVD and CD store at around 73rd Street and Roosevelt. If, say, you are walking out from the 7 train station at the stop on Roosevelt and 74th, you walk a little west instead of heading straight north on 74th St. (where you would find the big Hindi DVD stores)… Actually, the street itself starts to curve a little (northward), and the store is along that curve, near one of the Halal gyro carts and across from the others.

I wish I had more specific way of describing it, like a name or address, but I just find the place on sight. :)

And, unfortunately, I haven’t been around there for a while, I don’t know how many months… I used to live in the Jackson Heights area, just a few years ago, and I used to have regular income. From 2007-10, I could go to any of those stores any time, any day of the week, and I sometimes did a few times a week. That’s one of the reasons this blog grew into what it became. :) But now it’s a bit different.

I was living in Staten Island for a while, and now, I am living in The Bronx. I am waiting to hear about a job in Philadelphia (which looks less likely as time passes this week), but if I don’t get and take that, I’ll probably be in The Bronx for a while. If I do stay here, then one of these days, not too far off, I’ll make that trip to Queens again.

I’ll keep you posted if I have any plans about checking things out myself again soon. (It would be nice to…)

Thanks for the info! I will take the description with me when I visit Jackson Heights, I will try to check it out in the next couple of weeks as I may be in NY for some work. Good luck with the job hunting … hope that the news you are waiting for arrives soon.

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